


More Life, Less Dreams

by waroftheposes



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4739453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waroftheposes/pseuds/waroftheposes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ronan turned to Adam just as the cow succeeded in standing.</p>
<p>“You did it,” he breathed reverently. “You woke her up!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Life, Less Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> _In principio erat somnum, et Deus creavit Adam, et Adam dissolvit somnum._

Both Blue and Gansey looked up as Adam entered Monmouth. They were sitting close to each other and looking at something on Gansey's phone. They looked somewhat guilty as Adam entered. Adam briefly thought about the reason behind their guilt, and how that reason would have hurt him a while ago. He didn’t feel any kind of hurt, nor jealousy. What he felt was mild annoyance at their need to be guilty.

“Hi guys,” he said lightly, making his way towards Ronan’s room. The faster he reached the door, the less time he’d have to spend with Blue and Gansey looking at him like that.

“Adam,” Gansey said, standing up. “Hi, what are you doing here?”

Adam stopped his advance and tried to quell his frustration. “Nothing,” he said. “I have plans with…” He gestured towards Ronan’s door, as if to say “ _What do you think I’m here for?”_

Gansey nodded and sat down awkwardly. “Have fun I guess,” he said slowly. “Don’t break anything.”

“We most definitely won’t,” Adam replied and opened Ronan’s door.

Inside, Ronan was laying on his bed, headphones over his ears and eyes closed. As Adam closed the bedroom door, he heard Gansey mutter, “They never make plans with me anymore.”

He filed that away for later reflection as he gently kicked Ronan’s leg. Ronan opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Adam. Adam’s heart skipped a beat. He ignored it.

“Took you long enough,” Ronan said as he took off his headphones. 

Adam rolled his eyes and sat down next to Ronan on the bed. “I was at work.”

Sitting up, Ronan knocked his shoulder against Adam’s. “Well don’t get comfortable, we have to go.”

Adam nodded, took Ronan’s offered arm and let Ronan pull him up. It was both an intimate and an odd gesture. Adam wasn’t sure when they had become so so comfortable with each other. Had they always been so tactile, or had something changed, removing the need for personal so much as to make it irrelevant. 

“Will you drive?” Ronan asked hesitantly as he let go of Adam’s hand. 

Adam regarded him suspiciously. “Why?”

Ronan shrugged.

“Will you pay for gas?” Adam countered. As Ronan was well aware, Adam was not made of money. He would definitely not be paying for gas when they were doing errands for Ronan’s sake.

Ronan nodded. 

“Then sure,” Adam replied. “I’ll drive.”

It wasn’t until they were halfway to the Barns that Adam realized his mistake. 

They’d stopped by a gas station, and true to his word, Ronan filled Adam’s gas tank. As Adam drove, Ronan sprawled his body on the passenger seat, looking casual and comfortable. Adam glanced at him occasionally, willing him to talk, but Ronan seemed perfectly content in silence. Eventually, Adam stopped glancing at him, choosing to watch the road instead, and that’s when the song started playing.

“Squash one, squash two…”

“Ronan!” Adam screeched, quickly glancing to his right to see Ronan looking at him, a shit eating grin on his face. “Turn that off or I swear to god, Lynch.”

“You swear to god what?” Ronan replied, his smug voice only riling Adam up further.

Adam reached over to the tape player, attempting to eject the tape, but Ronan’s hand met his half way. He grabbed Adam’s hand briefly, but let it go and slapped at it, trying to keep it away from the tape player. Adam, attempting to keep his eyes on the road, slapped aimlessly at Ronan’s hand and arm. Ronan cackled.

“Do you want to kill us?” he asked, grabbing Adam’s hand and not letting go this time. Adam pointedly did not admit to himself how much he liked that. “Because your reckless driving might take both of us to an early grave.”

Adam glared at him in his peripheral vision. “Shut the hell up. If we die, it’s your fault.”

Ronan moved the hand holding Adam’s to his side. “My fault?” 

“For putting on the damned song.” Thankfully, the song was winding down. Adam wiggled his hand, trying to get it out of Ronan’s grasp. Ronan held on briefly, but let go after a moment, much to Adam’s disappointment. “You know I hate it.”

“Hate to love it,” Ronan said, settling back into his seat.

Murder Squash ended… and began again. Adam swore, Ronan laughed, and they listened to the damned song on repeat until they reached the Barns. 

—

Adam regularly came with Ronan to the Barns. He’d usually sit around and watch Ronan try whatever new thing he’d come up with on a cow, trying not to be too impressed by literally everything Ronan did. Last week though, while he’d been watching Ronan fail to wake the cow again, an idea had come to him.

“Ronan,” he’d said, and Ronan had looked up at him, frustration giving way to curiosity on his face.

“What up?” Ronan walked around the cow and stood over Adam.

“What if someone needs to wake the sleeping animals up?” Adam asked.

Ronan frowned at him. “That’s what I’m trying to do, Parrish. I’m literally trying to wake them up.” He said the words as if he were speaking to a simpleton. Adam bit his lip.

“No, I mean…” he stopped, trying to figure out the best way to explain himself. “What if someone needs to call them, tell them to wake up.”

Ronan’s eyes had widened. He’d somehow understood Adam’s meaning. From there, they’d discussed different ways to call a sleeping animal. All their methods had failed, but the night before, Ronan had come up with a completely new idea.

“What if you were to call them?” he’d asked. “You’re the magician, you do Cabeswater’s work. What if you were to get into their minds and tell them to wake up?”

So that’s what they were doing today. Adam would be attempting to wake the cow up with magic and Ronan would be using his latest dream gadget at the same time.

When they had arrived, neither of them were optimistic towards the outcome, which was why they both jumped when the cow stirred and opened her eyes. 

Adam and Ronan stood next to each other, transfixed, as the cow shook herself slightly and attempted to stand.

Ronan turned to Adam just as the cow succeeded in standing.

“Adam, you did it,” he breathed reverently. “You woke her up!”

Adam looked at Ronan, at his wide eyes and the smile tugging at his lip. Ronan looked younger than usual, and so full of hope that it tugged at Adam’s heart.

“We did it,” Adam responded.

Ronan shook his head. “No, you did it.” He ran his hand over his shaved head. “God, Parrish, I can’t believe this. I could kiss you.”

_Please do,_ Adam thought and immediately chastised himself for thinking it. 

“Let’s try it on something else,” he said, instead of letting something embarrassing escape his lips. 

So they did, on a smaller animal this time. Ronan brought him a cat and Adam reached out for it, closing his eyes and trying to find the glimmer of life in the cat’s small body. When he found it, he told it to wake up, and opened his eyes. The cat was struggling in Ronan’s arms, already wishing to escape. Ronan let it go, looking delighted.

“It works,” Adam said unnecessarily. The look on Ronan’s face was making him antsy. The barn they were in felt too small and Adam suddenly felt hot.

Ronan nodded and headed towards the exist. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s see how many of them we can wake up.”

Adam followed him to the stables and they woke three horses. Then they returned to the original barn to wake the rest of the cows and some chickens. Adam was starting to feel tired, although he wasn’t sure why he was feeling tired. He wasn’t really doing anything. Still, he wished to go on, to try to wake every sleeping thing in the Barns. 

Adam didn’t notice when his vision started to blur, or when he began to fall. He lost consciousness before he hit the ground.

—

He woke up in an unfamiliar bed, blinking rapidly and trying to remember his previous location.

He turned his head and found Ronan sitting on a chair, glaring at him.

Ronan sat up once he realized that Adam was awake.

“About damn time, Parrish,” he said and handed Adam a glass of water. Adam took it wordlessly. 

“Warn me next time you decide to faint like a girl, ok?” he went on harshly but Adam could see that behind the charade, Ronan was worried about him.

“Don’t let Blue hear you say that,” Adam whispered, sipping the water. 

Ronan snorted in response, then, “Why didn’t you tell me it was draining your energy?”

Adam shrugged, handing the water back to Ronan. “I didn’t realize…”

“Didn’t realize,” Ronan muttered. “Was too stupid to say something…”

Adam threw a stuffed animal at him. Ronan, predictably, dodged it.

“Where am I?” Adam asked, looking around. It looked like a young boy’s room, so Adam decided he must be in Matthew’s old room.

Ronan was not looking at him. “We’re in my room.”

Adam looked at him, surprised. “Did your parents keep your room this way until you were a teenager?”

Ronan glared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Adam began, “This looks like the room of a ten year old.”

Ronan flipped him off.

“It’s lovely though,” Adam said, letting himself tease. “The bed is very comfortable.”

Ronan hummed in response.

Adam watched him until he couldn’t take the silence anymore. Lately, being around Ronan was the most exhilarating and the most frustrating part of his life. Being around Ronan and not talking to him bothered Adam the most.

“So we did it,” Adam said, just to say something.

Ronan looked at him and smiled a genuine and unguarded smile, a smile completely free of his usual sarcasm. “You did it,” he said, and Adam ignored the urge to roll his eyes.

“When will we try it on your mom?” Adam asked instead.

Ronan shrugged. 

“What about tomorrow?” Adam asked, because he wanted to see Ronan smile like that again. He wanted to see Ronan smile like that forever.

Ronan looked at him sharply. “I couldn’t ask you to do that after you literally passed out from exhaustion.”

Adam furrowed his brows. “You’re not asking, I’m offering,” he said.

“Parrish,” Ronan began, but Adam cut him off.

“Ronan, the entire reason we’re even doing this is so we can wake your mom and keep Matthew awake,” Adam says. “We found out how to do it, so let’s do it as soon as we can.”

Ronan nodded and stood up. Before Adam had time to be surprised at the lack of argument, Ronan spoke. “You can sleep here until morning,” he said. “I’ll just sleep in the guest room.”

“You’re leaving?” The words left Adam’s lips before he could control his tone. The idea of being in Ronan’s childhood room without Ronan bothered him. 

“It’s two in the morning, Parrish,” Ronan said, scratching his head. “I’m really fucking tired.”

“Why don’t you sleep here?” Adam asked.

Ronan looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Because there’s only one bed in this room?”

Adam shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s not like either of us take up that much space.”

From the look on Ronan’s face, Adam could tell that he was surprised. “Share the bed?” Ronan asked hesitantly, and Adam wondered at a hesitant Ronan Lynch. The idea seemed preposterous to him, and yet, here they were.

“Yes, Lynch,” He responded, feeling a bit exasperated. “Share the bed.”

Ronan looked conflicted for a minute, then he resolutely shook his head. “No thanks, Parrish,” he said, walking towards the door. “I’d rather not wake up with your skinny elbow in my gut.”

He left before Adam could call him out on the lie.

After Ronan was gone, Adam lay on the bed, awake, for what felt like hours. He thought about Ronan, young and fundamentally different, sleeping on this bed night after night. He wondered what it would be like to know that Ronan, to learn his interests, laugh with him, drive in the BMW with him. Sometimes, Adam envied Gansey for having known Ronan before all the shit happened to him. Adam opened his eyes and looked around the room. He could see, even in the dark, a corner filled with trophies. He wondered briefly whether Ronan voluntarily entered those Irish singing competitions. Did he enjoy it? Had Niall and Aurora Lynch made him do it? Adam imagined a young Ronan, standing in front of a crowd and singing.

He wondered if Ronan knew how to dance to the songs that he’d once performed.

Groaning, Adam buried his face in his pillow. Lately his brain was filled with thoughts of Ronan, and being alone in Ronan’s old bed really wasn’t helping the matter.

He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but his last thoughts were of whether Ronan was thinking of him as much as he was thinking of Ronan.

—

Adam woke up the next morning feeling slightly disoriented. Having slept in Ronan’s room with no Ronan left him frustrated, and knowing Ronan was not too far away made it hard for him to sleep. Now awake, he sat up in bed and wondered what he would do to brush his teeth, and whether Ronan was awake.

Walking downstairs showed that Ronan was, in fact, very awake. He was making breakfast. Adam blinked at him, unable to believe his eyes. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, sitting on a stool next to the kitchen counter.

Ronan turned around and looked at him. “I’m making eggs, what does it look like I’m doing?”

“That’s a very un-Lynch like thing to do,” Adam said, stifling a yawn. “Where did you even get eggs?”

Ronan smiled at him. “The chickens we woke up last night.”

They ate in silence, Adam too reflexive of his own feelings to put up much of a conversation and Ronan being, well, Ronan.

After breakfast, Adam brought up Aurora again. Ronan wanted to pick up Matthew too, to try it on him as well as his mother. Adam asked whether Ronan planned to tell Matthew that he was taken out of Ronan’s dream. Ronan shook his head. “I’ll think of something else to tell him.”

They picked up Matthew before going to Cabeswater. On their way, Ronan briefed his younger brother on Aurora’s condition, and Matthew, obliging as always, promised to safeguard her until they reached the Barns.

Ronan’s mother entered a coma the minute they took her out of Cabeswater. 

As he was driving, Adam wished the Barns weren’t so out of everyone’s way. The silence made him uneasy. Matthew was too busy holding on to his mother, and Ronan kept quiet, playing with the leather bands on his wrist.

Reaching the Barn couldn’t have come soon enough. They moved Aurora to a comfortable seat in the living room and Ronan left to get his gadget. When he returned, they began the task of waking up Aurora Lynch.

Waking up a human was a lot more difficult than waking up an animal. Although Adam closed his eyes and reached with his mind, he had a hard time finding Aurora’s life force. He felt like he spent forever looking for it. Once he found it, he could not communicate with it. He asked her to wake up gently, but she didn’t want to. She wished to stay in her present state, not alive but not dead. Adam didn’t budge, he pushed at her sleeping mind, demanding she wake up. When he opened his eyes, Aurora was looking at her children in wonder, and for the second time in less than twenty four hours, Adam fainted.

This time when he opened his eyes, he was propped up on the couch in the Lynches’ living room, with Matthew sitting next to him and Ronan standing over him. Matthew looked worried, Ronan looked pissed.

“What?” Adam asked Ronan, feeling peeved at Ronan’s angry expression. “She woke up!”

Ronan sighed, sounding frustrated. “She woke up,” he said softly. “But you’ve been out for three hours.” He sat down next to Adam and made a move like he was going to reach out for him, but in the end he settled for looking at Adam, less angry and more worried.

“But she woke up,” Adam said, gaining energy at the news. “Let’s try Matthew now.”

Ronan frowned. “Parrish, I don’t think you can even stand up now, let alone perform magic on my brother.”

Next to Adam, Matthew nodded sagely. 

“We’re so close,” Adam said, implored really. Now that they’d come this far, he didn’t want to stop. “Just one more person.”

“No, Adam,” Ronan responded, sounding conflicted. “Not if it’s going to drain you again.”

Adam sighed. “I’m fine though,” he said. “Please, there’s one more thing left to do, and then we’ll be done.”

“Except the mice that need waking up,” Matthew supplied.

“Ronan, please?” Adam prodded. He didn’t understand why it was Ronan who needed convincing. They’d done all of this just to save Matthew. 

Ronan ran his hand over his head in frustration. “What if you get hurt?” he asked, sounding vulnerable. “I couldn’t do that to you.”

Adam’s heart beat loudly in his chest, pleased that Ronan cared so much for his health. “I’ll be fine.”

Ronan still looked unconvinced, but Adam ignored him. He turned to Matthew. “This is gonna be different than with your mom. I just need you to clear your mind ok?”

Matthew nodded. Adam closed his eyes and grabbed Matthew’s arm, hoping that Ronan would follow with his gadget. 

Matthew’s life energy was strong and easy to find. Unlike his mother’s, his was thriving. Adam asked it how long it would stay awake. It didn’t know. Adam asked it to stay awake even if something happened to the person who created it. It did not agree, so Adam demanded it out of the energy, Adam ordered it to stay awake. Finally, although Adam didn’t really understand how, the energy yielded.

Adam opened his eyes to find both Ronan and Matthew looking at him.

“Did it work?” Matthew asked, even though he didn’t know what they were doing.

Ronan looked inquisitively at Adam. Adam nodded. “I think it did.”

Ronan closed his eyes and sighed in relief. For the first time since Adam had met him, Ronan looked at peace.

“Thank you,” he said to Adam.

Adam nodded, too overwhelmed with emotion to be able to respond.

—

Apparently, using magic, even though you didn’t understand what you were doing, really drained your energy. Adam passed out on Ronan’s old bed after eating dinner and slept until noon the next day. 

He would have slept longer, but Ronan woke him up.

“Get your ass out of bed, Parrish,” Ronan was saying while slowly shaking Adam awake. “I’ve got something cool to show you.”

Adam blinked at him groggily. “Can it wait until after I’ve had coffee?”

Ronan grinned at him. “Only if your coffee takes five minutes.”

Adam muttered profanities at Ronan under his breath as he got up and headed towards the bathroom. He got dressed, went downstairs, and was greeted by Aurora’s smiling face.

“Good afternoon dear,” she said and handed him a cup of coffee. “How did you sleep?”

Adam breathed in the smell of coffee and smiled at her. “Dreamlessly.” 

She laughed at his joke as Ronan came running down the stairs. He was holding a tote bag and glaring at Adam’s coffee mug.

“Where’s Matthew?” Adam asked, ignoring Ronan’s pointed glare.

It was Aurora who answered him. “He had a friend pick him up for church this morning.”

Adam resisted the urge to slap his palm against his forehead. It was Sunday. The Lynch boys never missed church. He turned towards Ronan. “Why aren’t you at church?”

“I took your car,” Ronan said in lieu of an answer. “I went and came back while you were asleep.”

Adam nodded, feeling relief wash over him. “Oh good,” he said between sips of his coffee. “I wouldn’t want you to miss church.”

Ronan let the bag drop from his hands. “I’m sure you wouldn’t,” he said and took the coffee mug out of Adam’s hands. 

Adam protested weakly as Ronan put the mug on the counter and grabbed Adam’s arm, then the bag, and began steering Adam towards the door.

“Thanks for the coffee, Mrs. Lynch,” Adam said over his shoulder as Ronan all but pushed him out the door. 

Adam pulled his arm out of Ronan’s grip. “Ok, I’m coming, you don’t need to drag me.”

Ronan let go of Adam’s arm and started jogging. Adam followed him, speeding his steps to keep up. 

Ronan took him around the back of one barn, further away from the architectural structures and towards a clearing. Adam didn't question him, just followed along. He did however, start to doubt his trust in Ronan when the latter boy stopped in front of a fairly large pond and began to take off his shirt.

Adam gaped at him. 

“Ronan, it’s the middle of October,” he said, surprised.

Ronan grinned at him as he unbuttoned his shirt. “Yes, and this is a hot pond.”

Adam blinked at him. “A hot what?”

“A hot pond,” Ronan supplied unhelpfully, taking off his pants and making Adam even more uncomfortable. “It’s like a hot spring, except it’s a pond.”

Adam nodded, still confused. “Is there a difference?” he asked. The pond was surrounded by rocks, and it seemed to dip on the side farthest from Adam, perhaps into a small waterfall.

“I don’t think so,” Ronan responded.

“Did your dad dream this or…?” Adam asked, doing his best not to gawk at Ronan’s naked torso. How did one dream a hot spring? Did Niall Lynch lie down in this particular spot one day and dream about a hot spring?

“Yep,” Ronan said and threw the duffel bag at Adam’s head. “There are swim trunks in that.”

Adam opened the bag to find two swimsuits, neatly folded, one on top of the other. He took one and threw it at Ronan in revenge.

Ronan caught it, and Adam averted his gaze as he put it on and jumped into the pond. 

Adam watched as Ronan reemerged, water droplets lining his face. “Come on, Parrish,” he said, shaking his head. 

Adam regarded him skeptically. Being half naked in a pond with Ronan seemed like a very bad idea. 

“Isn’t the water hot?” he asked instead of addressing what Ronan had said.

Ronan shook his head, “Nope, dream pond,” he said, and when Adam showed no signs of taking off his clothes, he began splashing water at him. “What are you waiting for, a formal invitation?”

“Ok, ok,” Adam said, crouching down. He felt extremely self conscious as he took off his clothes, not because he was uncomfortable with his own body, but because Ronan was there, watching him. Adam wanted, more than anything, to impress Ronan.

The water was incredibly warm—but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. Ronan looked delighted as Adam waded towards him. He splashed around as Adam found a comfortable place to sit.

“Do you like it?” Ronan asked, coming closer.

Adam regarded him silently. “Of course I like it,” he answered, as if something as cool as a hot spring would fail to impress him.

“Good,” Ronan said. “It’s supposed to relax you.”

Adam laughed. “I definitely need that,” he said and tripped on a loose stone while attempting to stand up. He had enough time to think about how he was lucky to be in a pond, where the worst thing that could happen would be ingestion of magic hot spring water before Ronan’s arms wrapped around his shoulders. Ronan was in front of him, holding him securely in his arms, against his skin, and Adam’s mind went blank.

Perhaps it would have been better for him to fall in the pond and drink magic water.

Adam looked up at Ronan as seconds ticked by and neither of them moved away. His hands on Ronan’s chest could feel the steady beat of the other boy’s heart, every thump matched equally with Adam’s. 

Ronan was looking at him, looking as lost as Adam felt.

“Sorry,” he muttered, backing away. 

Adam swallowed. He’d been loathe to address his growing feelings for Ronan, perfectly happy to pretend they didn’t exist. Now though, with Ronan so close, with both of them so exposed, Adam forced himself to confront his feelings. The loud beat of his heart and the heat pooling in his gut left no room for doubt. He didn’t want Ronan to go. He wanted Ronan to stay this close, always.

Adam raised his arms quickly, wrapping them around Ronan’s neck, unwilling to let him move away. “No,” he whispered, afraid what the sound of his voice might do. “Don’t.”

Ronan blinked at him, confused, surprised. “Adam…”

Adam closed his eyes. Words were hard right now. Thinking was hard. Adam wasn’t really certain of what he was doing.

“I don’t want you to… go far,” he said with difficulty, opening his eyes.

Ronan tilted his head, regarding Adam with a look Adam did not understand. “Well, what do you want?”

“I want…” he began and trailed off, it was really hard to get the words “to kiss you” to leave his mouth.

Ronan frowned, his eyes cloudy. “What?”

Frustrated, Adam leaned forward, brushing his lips against Ronan’s. It lasted about a second, and Adam pulled back as fast as he had leaned in. 

“To do that,” he somehow managed to say.

Ronan looked shocked, but he did not move away. “I don’t get it,” he said slowly.

“What don’t you get?”

“You like girls,” he said, as if stating an unequivocal truth.

Adam nodded. “I like people,” he said, smiling. “I like you.”

Ronan gasped at the words. He looked down at Adam’s collarbone, a soft smile slowly forming on his lips. “Say it again,” he demanded after a moment, still looking at Adam’s collarbone .

“I like you,” Adam said immediately, feeling more confident.

Ronan looked up at him, “Again.”

“I like you,” Adam laughed, and Ronan leaned in to cut off his laughter with a kiss. His lips slid against Adam’s, soft but demanding, and his arms gripped Adam’s waist. Adam closed his eyes, letting himself be kissed, and kissing back. He’d spent so long wanting to be kissed, first by anyone, then by Blue, and for a while now, by Ronan. Nothing had prepared him for the feeling of Ronan’s lips against his. It set Adam’s skin on fire, made him melt into Ronan. It made him want more and more. He wrapped his legs around Ronan’s waist, letting him support both of them. His grip on Ronan’s shoulders was probably painful, but Adam didn’t care. All he wanted was more.

Ronan pulled back and Adam chased his lips, disgruntled. Ronan though, raised a finger to Adam’s lips, stopping his movements and gaining some of his attention. “Stop for a moment Parrish, will you?” His voice sounded scratchy when it came out, Adam liked it.

Ronan took a deep breath and let it out, then he slowly untangled himself from Adam’s grip. Adam opened his mouth to protest, but Ronan cut him off.

“I am a teenage boy,” he said, looking embarrassed. “Who might have been carrying a fucking torch for you for months, maybe we can cool it down before I embarrass myself?”

“What…” Adam began, and then, “Oh!”

Ronan frowned and moved away from him, but Adam grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 

“Who cares?” he said, kissing Ronan’s cheek. “I don’t.”

Ronan bit his lip. “I care,” he said softly, which… was a bit adorable, and also, the kind of words that made Adam pause and reevaluate his own. 

“I just don’t want to… not for the first time with you… here,” he said, sounding embarrassed.

It warmed Adam’s heart that Ronan cared so much. “Ok,” he said, trailing his fingers down Ronan’s arm. “I get it.”

“Do you?” Ronan’s voice sounded hopeful, very un-Ronan like. Although lately, a lot of things Ronan did around Adam were un-Ronan like. 

“I do,” Adam responded, leaning in and kissing Ronan softly. “Let’s play marco-polo.”

Ronan snorted. “What are we, five?”

Adam pushed at his shoulders. “Do you have a better non-make-out entertainment idea?”

“Well,” Ronan said, seemingly considering Adam’s request. “You could always swim and I could try to catch you.”

Adam raised his brows. “What happens when you catch me?”

“I get to splash water on you,” Ronan said.

“And what’s in it for me?” Adam was weirdly into this game, although he didn’t want Ronan to know that.

Ronan looked at him bashfully. “If you win, I’ll buy you dinner?”

Adam laughed. “You’ll buy me dinner either way,” he said as he paddled away from Ronan. “But you’re on.”

—

Predictably, Adam lost—not that he was trying very hard to win. As he and Ronan walked back to the house, fingers brushing occasionally, Adam thought of how thrilling it had been to run and be caught, and quickly put that thought away for a more private occasion.

Aurora was gone when they got back to the house, there was a note on the counter saying she was going to give driving a try. Ronan looked worried for a few seconds, but he shrugged eventually.

“She does what she wants,” he said in answer to Adam’s raised brows. “She’s her own person.”

Adam wasn’t sure what to do now that they were back at the house. He needed to do homework, but he didn’t want to leave the Barns. The place put him at ease in a way that his own tiny apartment did not. 

“What do you want to do now?” he asked Ronan.

Ronan looked a bit embarrassed. “Do you want to…” he began and cut himself off, scratching his head. He inclined his head towards the stairs. 

“Do I want to see your record collection?” Adam asked, amused. 

Ronan bit his lip and nodded.

“Hell yeah, I do,” he said and ran up the stairs, Ronan trailing behind him.

—

_Epilogue_

Gansey was silent but furious when they arrived at Monmouth that night.

“I told you we were ok…” Ronan said before Gansey had a chance to open his mouth.

Gansey raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

Adam slowly walked up to him and hesitantly sat on his bed. “I’m sorry, it was my fault. I should have contacted you.”

Gansey sighed in frustration.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Ronan went on, stubbornly refusing to apologize. “He was just going along with what I wanted.” Well that bit was false, but whatever.

“And what exactly was it that you wanted?” Gansey asked, the full force of his anger directed at Ronan.

Ronan shrugged and, to Adam’s horror, walked into his room and closed his door.

The bastard.

Adam stared after him in shock, then turned to Gansey, speechless.

“One text saying that you guys were alive was really not enough,” Gansey sighed finally, “You were gone all weekend. Where were you?”

Adam opened his mouth to respond, but right then Ronan’s door opened and Ronan walked out, Chainsaw perched on his shoulders. He sat right next to Adam on the bed.

“We went to the Barns,” Ronan began casually, looking at the wall behind Gansey’s head. “We woke up some animals, Parrish woke up my mom.” 

Gansey’s eyes widened in surprise, he turned to Adam.

Adam smiled, tired. Ronan hadn’t mentioned the confessions and the kisses. “She’s all awake and driving by herself now,” he said weakly.

“Then I took him,” Ronan pointed to Adam, “to a hot spring.”

Adam’s heart skipped a beat. “To say thanks,” he added.

“Whatever,” Ronan said. “You weren’t invited because you already have enough shit to deal with,” he added as an aside.

Adam watched as a flurry of emotions passed over Gansey’s face. “I guess I see that,” Gansey said finally, sounding relieved. Adam thought briefly about whether Gansey had been jealous. He’d never thought of Gansey as jealous of his friends. He thought about how he would feel if his two best friends, friends he had introduced to each other, began spending more and more time together without him. 

Adam would be jealous.

He wondered how Gansey would react if he found out about Adam and Ronan’s non-platonic relationship.

“Then we made out,” Ronan said as casually as he had said everything else. 

Adam took in a sharp breath.

Gansey blinked at Ronan, looking dumbfounded. “You what?”

Ronan bit his lips, looking entirely too proud of himself. “You heard me.”

He grabbed Adam’s wrist, standing up. “And that you know what we were doing, I think it’s time for Parrish to go home and do the mountains of homework he has.”

Adam stood up with him, amused at him but worried about Gansey. 

“Nice chat,” Ronan said and pulled Adam along.

“See you at school, Gansey,” Adam said behind his shoulder as they made their escape.

Perhaps leaving Gansey with such an unexpected and important piece of information was not wise, but as Ronan dragged him to the Hondayota, Adam found that he didn’t really care. He’d talk to Gansey tomorrow, explain everything Gansey wanted to know. For now, he sat in the passenger seat of his own car and let Ronan play the stupid Murder Squash song on repeat until they reached St. Agnes.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, as I was writing this, I was like, this is so self indulgent, it's literally what I want to happen. I want Adam to be crucial in waking up the dreaming things with his magic.
> 
> I'm not sorry.
> 
> Come say hi to me on [tumblr](http://waroftheposes.tumblr.com), I promise I'm less pretentious than my notes at the beginning of this fic suggest.


End file.
